On December 11, professional boxing returns home… to the Outaouais! And in the main event of the big gala, in front of his people, Buckingham’s own Alexandre Gaumont is preparing to take the most important step of his young professional career.
A pure product of the Outaouais, shaped in local gyms and carried by a tight-knit family, Gaumont arrives at this moment with the ambition to fully embrace his role as headliner. For him, this fight isn’t just a date on a calendar: it’s the culmination of his early years in the sport, with their highs, their doubts, and the anxiety he has learned to tame.
It took only a few hours for Alexandre Gaumont to sell out every ticket available at the Casino du Lac-Leamy for his matchup with the formidable Swiss boxer Ramadan Hiseni. The recipe of a hometown fighter, strongly rooted in his community, involved in a fight where even I can’t confidently make a prediction, is a formula that has proven itself.
At 30 years old, this fight marks a turning point for King Cogne: his first main event, and above all, the beginning of the other professional career — the one where the record is no longer protected and where every opponent is dangerous and capable of winning.
Photo: Vincent Ethier – Alexandre Gaumont
Gatineau and its boxing culture
If I had to draw a parallel between three generations of Gatineau boxers — Gaétan Hart, Pascal Villeneuve and Alexandre Gaumont — I’d use three words: work, humility and toughness.
Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse became a world champion, and soldier Danyk Croteau also had a solid career.
Since March, two schools offer the sports-study boxing program in Gatineau. The project is led by coach Romi El-Ghourani.
Laurent, Alex and Saint-Joseph-du-Lac
It was Vincent Tremblay who first told me about Alexandre Gaumont:
“He just knocked out 16 in a row, his KO rate is at 80% in the amateurs.”
My friend Vincent couldn’t stop praising him.
That’s when we started a lobbying campaign that went on until Gaumont was hired by Eye of the Tiger Management. Vincent and I called Camille Estephan — sometimes even at night — to talk to him about King Cogne. The Boxingtown Québec podcast ran for three years, and we never missed a chance to boost the Gatineau boxer’s candidacy.
Photo: Vincent Ethier – Alexandre Gaumont:
Then, we lost track of him. Serious anxiety issues slowed down his career.
Anxiety — I’ve gone through it too. It’s violent, it paralyzes you, it’s not rational, it’s shameful… you lock yourself in your room, you stop breaking things… You hide in a comfort zone that shrinks day by day. Alex Gaumont could no longer handle pre-fight anxiety: the lights, the eyes of the spectators.
I waited eight years before speaking to my doctor about it. Like Gaumont, it was medication that neutralized the anxiety enough for me to start living again.
Then, he started performing again. It helps to sleep better and live with normal stress levels. I rediscovered him on a February night in 2020, when he beat Christopher Guerrero in Saint-Joseph-du-Lac. Several scouts were in attendance. That was one of his last tests before turning professional.
After the fight, I sat down with King Cogne. I opened up about my anxiety. I told him he wasn’t alone and that there was nothing shameful about it. A solid conversation between two men who understood each other, despite a first meeting.
Photo: Vincent Ethier – Alexandre Gaumont
Success in the pros
My friend Vincent Tremblay tells me that King Cogne owes his progress in the pros to the number of hours he’s spent in front of the television. You read that right. Gaumont is a student of boxing. He can spend countless hours studying professional boxers: he and his father devour fights. He studies every detail of the best fighters in the world, past and present.
Despite a few injuries that slowed him down, Gaumont finds himself at 30 years old with a record of 13-0, including 9 wins by KO. For his first 10-round fight, he faces Ramadan Hiseni, a Swiss boxer who went the distance with Shamiil Khataev and who spars in training camp with Osleys Iglesias.
“We don’t go to war with a Swiss Army knife.” – Marcellin Gaumont, coach and father.
Noé Cloutier told me he had the chance to attend a promotional event with Alex Gaumont at the Gatineau Olympiques and still can’t get over the night he experienced.
“Gaumont is a rockstar over there. People were lining up for a photo. He held babies and signed autographs all night.” – Noé Cloutier (okay, he didn’t say it exactly like that, but EOTTM posted photos proving it).
Photo: Dominic Charette – Alexandre Gaumont
And what’s next?
The future and potential of Alexandre Gaumont aren’t clear yet. Could he be involved in a possible trilogy with Steven Butler? Or will EOTTM want to try the international route with him?
Part of the answer will come with his performance on December 11.
On the podcast
“King Cogne’s” sister, Marie-Soleil Gaumont, had a career in amateur boxing. Their father, Marcellin Gaumont, taught them the fundamentals of the noble art.
Gatineau is full of musical talent — my favorites are D-Track, Nicholas Craven and Bozko.
In boxing, Kazakhstan has a huge reputation for producing great fighters. In 2025 in Gatineau, it’s a Kazakh goalie who makes people dream — Danai Shaiikov is prodigious in the nets for the Gatineau Olympiques.
Photo: Vincent Ethier – Alexandre Gaumont
